Angels, Demons and Sacrifices
by Kittengrl39
Summary: KuramaOC. Sequel to "Angel's Wings". When the girls are kidnapped for use as sacrifices in the resurrection of a demon god, the Reikai Tantei must get them back. But will they get there in time? Or will one of them lose their life in the process? COMPLETE
1. Prolouge

I'm baaaaaa~aaaaack! ^_^  
  
I know you all have been waiting patiently (and not-so-patiently) for the sequel to "Angel's Wings", so I've been working my @$$ off-  
  
Kirae: *yells from kitchen* Try sitting in bed reading and eating leftover Halloween candy!  
  
Me: Shut up! They weren't supposed to know that! Anyways, I've been typing up this story so that all my faithful slaves - I mean, fans of Medra and her story can read what happened next. Oh, and all you newbies can enjoy this too, but I'd recommend reading "Angel's Wings" first. It gives the background story of Medra.   
  
Enjoy the fic!  
  
Disclaimer: Why do I have to say this so many times? Is it because you don't believe me?  
  
Kirae: -_-; Don't flatter yourself.  
  
All right, all right, I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.  
  
Warnings: There is some romance in this story between Medra and Kurama. I know most of you would rather not see Kurama paired with an original character, but it's an essential part of this story. The following stories will also be Medra/Kurama, but the main focus is on the plot, not their relationship. So please don't disconsider this just because it has an OC paired up with one of the characters.  
  
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Angels, Demons and Sacrifices  
  
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"SPIRIT GUN!!!"  
  
BANG!!!  
  
It was a calm summer's day in the suburbs of Tokyo. Warm, but not too hot. The sky was blue... the birds were singing...  
  
And Medra Tsunimayo was powering up for another shot at the target 20 feet away.  
  
A drop of sweat ran down her face as she let the blast loose, exulting when it hit the target dead center. She marvelled at the extent to which her powers had grown in just one year. Twelve months ago, she had been just another wannabe. She had had potential, true, but it took training to bring potential out and turn it into talent...  
  
The sound of clapping made her head turn to the fence railing where her tutor was sitting, shaking his head in admiration. He saw her glance and smiled, his green eyes laughing. She grinned back.   
  
... And training she had recieved.  
  
"That was excellent," said Kurama, jumping off the railing and coming towards her. "Right on the mark. You really have progressed immensely from when we met."  
  
"Thanks to you," she laughed, hitting him on the shoulder playfully. "If you hadn't agreed to train me, I don't know what I would have done."  
  
"Most likely wasted that talent and stayed lonely all your life," he answered.   
  
"Probably," she agreed. Then she sighed. "It's really nice to have some friends who just accept me as I am, instead of just seeing... this all the time." She indicated the pair of white, feathery wings on her back. They fluttered slightly with her movement.  
  
"Now, now," the former thief chided gently, "I thought we had agreed to see your wings as a gift, not a curse. Most people would give anything to have a pair of wings and be able to fly."  
  
"Well, they can have them," she declared, sitting back onto the fence. "They're more trouble than they're worth."  
  
Kurama smiled gently and sat next to her. "You know you don't mean that."  
  
"I do!" Medra protested. "It's because of these things on my back that I had to move away, and they're the reason I can't go out in public for more than two hours. Personally, I think the drawbacks far outweigh the benefits."  
  
"But if you didn't have them, you wouldn't be able to fly," he reminded her.  
  
"True," she conceded.  
  
"...You wouldn't have met me."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
Medra stirred from her own thoughts and looked at Kurama. He was gazing at her with a mixture of admiration, understanding, kindness, and...  
  
Was that love?  
  
"Kurama?..."  
  
"Shhh."  
  
Gently - oh so gently - he took her hands in his, leaned forward, and kissed her.  
  
Medra remained still for a moment, shocked. Her hand reached up to touch her lips. "Wha..."  
  
"I love you, Medra."  
  
She looked at the kitsune, who was even now gazing at her with his deep green eyes, so lovingly it took her breath away. This was the one who had first found her wandering the halls of the stadium on Hanging Neck Isle. This was the one who had talked her into going home after she had run away from guilt. This was the one who had trained her, who had stood by her, even when she was ready to just give up and cry from hopelessness of it all.  
  
Her eyes filled with tears.  
  
"I love you too, Kurama," she whispered as they embraced.  
  
And a shadow detatched itself from the bole of the tree above them and sped away.  
  
Half an hour later, a low-class demon whispered something in its master's ear. An unpleasant smile crossed the hidden one's face, and a voice came from the shadows. "An angel, hmm?"  
  
"...Bring her along too."  
  
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Aaaaaaaand cliffie.  
  
So, how d'ya like it? Was it good? Bad? Excellent? Horrendous? Tell me what you think. And if I get some reviews, maybe I'll continue, hmm?  
  
*Angry mob starts gathering outside authoress's house*  
  
O_O Gotta go! Review and I'll update! Bye! 


	2. Chapter 1 Kidnapped!

I only got one review. *looks sad* I guess not many people read this. Ah well.  
  
Yaoi-Rules: Thanks so much, Becca-chan! You're my only reviewer! At least I can count on you.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own it.  
  
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Angels, Demons and Sacrifices  
  
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From a dilapidated old building in downtown Tokyo, several dark shapes issued. They paused at a street junction; then each darted off in a different direction, seeking their prey.  
  
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In the darkness of her bedroom, Medra stirred. It seemed like there was someone else in the room. "W... who's there?" Medra yawned, her voice thick with sleep.  
  
Suddenly, a net was thrown over her. Jolted awake, she struggled, then cried out as the net was flooded with electricity. Then she collapsed as the power flowed out again.   
  
The demon that had attacked her grunted, satisfied with his work, then gathered up the net to take her away.  
  
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Keiko Yukimura yawned, rubbing her eyes. ~It's so late...~ she thought, glancing at the clock. 11:49.   
  
~I really should be getting to bed. But I just had to finish up studying. The big test is next week, and...~ She yawned again. ~On second thought, no use studying if you fall asleep during the test.~  
  
She gathered up her papers and closed her book, when a shadow fell across her. "Huh?" She turned to see a demon standing behind her with a nasty grin on his face, arm raised to knock her out. The last thing she thought before she fell into unconsciousness was, ~What does this thing want with me?~  
  
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Yukina sat upright in her bed at Genkai's shrine. She had woken up and could not get back to sleep. ~Maybe some warm milk will help me sleep.~  
  
She got up, intending to go to the fridge at the back of the shrine, but paused in midstep. A flash of black had run past her window, and she felt the signature of a youki, there and gone too quickly for her to identify. ~Hiei-san?~ But why was he moving so slowly? Was he hurt?  
  
Concerned, she quickly threw on her kimono and went outside. "Hiei-san?" she voiced cautiously. "I-is that you?"   
  
A sound made her whip her head around to see a large, ugly demon standing behind her. Another, to her left, approached as well. She turned to run back to the shrine but was stopped by a third demon, this one more human-looking, holding a piece of paper. Looking at it, she quailed, remembering the awful days spent in the captivity of Tarukane. But these markings were slightly different-  
  
The demon stuck the paper on her, grinning.  
  
~-They induce... sleep...~  
  
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Shizuru woke up, feeling the tingling on the back of her neck that she usually associated with her spirit awareness. She lay still in the darkness, listening carefully. She could hear the sounds of snores coming from the room next to hers, which meant that it wasn't her brother sneaking a midnight snack. She reached outward with her spirit awareness. Two of them. In the kitchen.   
  
Soundlessly she got up and picked up a baseball bat from beside the bedroom door for just such an emergency. She crept out of the room and down the hall. There. One of them was just inside the doorway. Closer... closer...  
  
She burst inside, swinging the baseball bat and taking one of them out. He dropped without a sound. She turned quickly to deal with the other one but was stopped by a sweet-smelling pad pressed close to her face. ~Chloroform...~  
  
Shizuru slumped against the wall as the demon woke his companion and slung the girl over his shoulder. They reached the front door and vanished into the night.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Oh, dear," Koenma said as he looked at the four reports. "This is bad. Very bad."  
  
He called Botan into his office. "It looks like Vironem has made his move sooner than we expected," he told her grimly.  
  
Botan nodded, all business now. "Who's been taken?"  
  
"It's not just some ningens this time, Botan," he warned her. "Shizuru, Medra, Yukina and Keiko have been taken."  
  
Botan gasped, and her hands flew to her mouth. "Not-"  
  
"The very same."  
  
"This is awful!" she cried, horrified. "We have to get them out of there before it's too late!"  
  
"Yes, I know," he said. "Which is why I want you to go down there and spy for me. See if you can find where the captives are being held and then report back to me. I'll send Yusuke and the others to get them."  
  
Botan nodded quickly. "I'll get right on it."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yusuke woke up to the ringing of the phone. "Mom?" he said sleepily, then remembered that she had spent the night at a friend's house. Yawning, he got up and shuffled sleepily towards the phone.  
  
"Moshi moshi..." he said, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"Yusuke?" It was Keiko's mother, and she sounded distressed... like she had just been crying, and was trying to keep from doing so over the phone.  
  
Yusuke woke up a bit more. "Yeah?"  
  
"Is Keiko there?"  
  
"No, she's not," Yusuke replied. "Why? What's going on?"  
  
"We think... Keiko's..." Mrs. Yukimura was having trouble getting the words out. "Keiko's been... kidnapped."  
  
"WHAT?!?!?!?"  
  
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Kuwabara rolled over and woke. Sunlight streamed through the window - a lot more sunlight than he was used to. ~What time is it?~ he wondered, glancing at his clock.  
  
~8:27?!?!~  
  
Panicking, he threw his clothes on and grabbed his books. "Why didn't you wake me up, sis?!?" he yelled to Shizuru.  
  
No answer came.  
  
Kuwabara paused in his frantic activity, listening. "Sis?"  
  
Still nothing.  
  
A quick search led him to discover that Shizuru was not in her room - nor, indeed, anywhere in the house. Everything else was there - all her clothes, food, even the car. Except that the baseball bat she kept beside her bedroom door was missing.  
  
All the evidence led him to the obvious conclusion...  
  
"Shizuru's been abducted by aliens!"  
  
No, you moron, the other obvious conclusion.  
  
"Oh. You mean..."  
  
"SHIZURU'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!!!"  
  
There you go.  
  
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Kurama headed cheerfully towards Medra's house to see her before he went to school. This had become a daily routine for them - Kurama would talk to her for a few minutes before school, then come over after school for some tutoring. Her parents approved of him, although they thought that he was only helping her keep up in school. (Remember, she's homeschooled.) They were discussing getting her into the public school - if she went to the bathroom in between classes, she might be able to let her wings out long enough for her stay wingless until the end of the school day.  
  
He reached the front door and was about to knock when he paused. Something wasn't right. He could smell the lingering scent of an unfamiliar youkai. And he couldn't hear Medra coming down to greet him. In fact, he heard... sobbing...  
  
He burst inside. The sight that greeted his eyes only confirmed his suspicions. Mr. Tsunimayo was holding Mrs. Tsunimayo as she sobbed into his shirt. "What's happened? Where's Medra?" Kurama asked wildly.  
  
"Gone..." sobbed her mother. "She's... gone..."  
  
"We believe she's been kidnapped," said her father gravely.  
  
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Hiei woke to the sun in his eyes and birds cheerfully singing. He jumped out of the tree that he had spent the night in, stretched, and prepared to use the Jagan to check on Yukina. It had become his morning routine to see her happy and smiling in Genkai's garden.   
  
But this time, something was different. Instead of seeing his twin's face, he saw... a blue shield, thick and impenetrable. Frowning, he pushed harder, trying to break it.  
  
A whirlwind of pain surrounded him, screaming faces and sobs, death, torture, and through it all the *pain*...  
  
He sat back, shaken. Something was definitely not right.   
  
As soon as he had recovered his breath, he sped off to Genkai's shrine. There, he saw the old hag standing in the front yard, as if waiting for him. "Where's-" he began.  
  
"She's not here, you fool, and I suggest that if you want to find her, you'd better get to work quickly. They didn't leave many traces." she snapped. That tone didn't fool him, though - judging by her white knuckles and the strength with which she spoke, she was worried.  
  
Hiei sped off to find his twin.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
All four of them met at a street corner. "What the heck are you doing here?" Yusuke snapped.   
  
"I'm looking for my sister-" Kuwabara started, but was cut off. "Yukina's missing," said Hiei darkly. "Medra, as well," Kurama stated.  
  
"Well, I'm looking for Keiko."  
  
They stared at each other.  
  
"This is beginning to seem like it's not a coincidence..." Kurama began slowly.  
  
"Damn right it's not a coincidence."  
  
They turned to see an image of Koenma appear in the sky above them. Luckily, there was no one else around.  
  
"Hey! Do you know something, pacifier breath?!" Yusuke yelled at the young god. All his thoughts were on Keiko, and he was worried.  
  
"Yes I do, and would you please stop calling me that," Koenma said, directing a glare at Yusuke. "Listen up."  
  
"A long time ago, some demons worshipped an evil demi-god named Thalkarsh. Through sacrifices and strange rituals, his power grew, until he was feared throughout the Makai. But that wasn't enough for him."  
  
"He tried to challenge my father, the ruler of Reikai. Naturally, Dad defeated him, and after he was done, he sealed Thalkarsh in a pocket dimension and killed all his worshippers. Since Thalkarsh gained his power through worship and sacrifice, we believed he was trapped."  
  
"Recently, we have learned that one demon survived and made it through to the Ningenkai. He gathered a small following and attempted to break Thalkarsh's bonds, but was discovered by your government and killed in a cover-up attack. One of *his* followers survived and found out the correct method of raising Thalkarsh: one hundred human sacrifices."  
  
"Over the years, he has slowly stolen and killed enough humans to make quite a stir - if they were stolen all at once. He prefers to take one from here, another from there, in no discernible pattern. Now, all that's needed is one more sacrifice."  
  
"So why did he take all four?" Yusuke yelled.  
  
Koenma bowed his head. "I have no idea."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"I sent Botan down to retrieve information last night, but so far she hasn't returned. I am afraid she must have been kidnapped as well."  
  
"This makes no sense," Hiei muttered. "If he only needs one, why take three ningens, an apparition, and a ferry girl?"  
  
"You must get them back before before he sacrifices them," Koenma ordered. "If he does, Thalkarsh will rise - in the Ningenkai."  
  
"So where is it?" Kuwabara asked, bringing up a good point.  
  
"Downtown, near the old movie theater."  
  
"Well, then-" Yusuke broke into a predatory smile. "Let's go."  
  
They set off at run, hoping that it wasn't too late.  
  
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Phew! That was long. Hope I didn't confuse you too much with the changing viewpoints and all. ^_^; Oh, and I borrowed the name of the demon from Mercedes Lackey's book Oathbreakers. Well, read and review!  
  
To my friend: You know who are. Happy 6-month anniversary. 


	3. Chapter 2 Plans Revealed

^_^; Sorry for not updating for so long! Gomennasai!  
  
Yaoi-Rules: Hey! Thanks for being my faithful reviewer and enjoying the fic.  
  
CrazedAnimeFanGirl: I see you're back. ^_^ Hope you like this one.  
  
Squeakers: Hello once again. Thanks for reading this.  
  
All right, I'd better get started on this chapter. Enjoy!  
  
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Angels, Demons and Sacrifices  
  
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"Ow! Hey, watch it!"  
  
Botan was dumped unceremoniously into an enclosure by two ugly demons. She rubbed her side and yelled, "Let me go or you'll get a life sentence in Reikai prison! I mean it!"  
  
"It won't work."  
  
Botan turned to see Keiko, Yukina, Shizuru and Medra. Shizuru was the one who had spoken.   
  
"We've tried everything short of actually breaking out and wringing their necks," Keiko explained. "It just doesn't seem to affect them."  
  
Slightly discouraged, Botan turned to examine the place they were in. "Where are we?"  
  
Yukina said timidly, "We haven't figured that out yet."  
  
They were in an enclosure that was roughly the size of a living room. Glowing, light blue walls surrounded them, as well as a sheet of it overhead, closing the structure off. Strong metal bars stood at the corners.  
  
Seeing Botan's expression, Medra said, "We've tried everything we can think of to break the walls - physical force, spirit gun, swords, freezing... After the Spirit Gun bounced back and nearly killed us, we decided not to try anymore."   
  
"So there's no way of getting out?" Botan demanded.  
  
"None that we can think of."  
  
Medra leaned against the wall. She hoped Kurama would be able to find them. She was bored out of her mind, and they still didn't know why they had been captured. And now Botan was here, too. ~Trapped in a box with a bubblehead...~ Medra could not suppress a bitter laugh. ~Geometric irony.~  
  
"So... I hope you all are enjoying your stay."  
  
Medra stiffened and turned towards the voice, crouching in a fighting stance. All the others turned, ready to fight, as well. (Well, perhaps with the exception of Yukina, who looked more like a startled deer...)  
  
A tall man was standing just outside of their cage, his face half-hidden in shadow. As he moved towards it, a shaft of murky light fell upon his features. He was bald, with black eyes, and wore a hooded robe with the hood down. He seemed normal enough - until you looked into his eyes. They were cool and calculating, and behind them the mind of a true religious fanatic.  
  
"Why don't you just let us go already, you creep?!" Shizuru snarled.  
  
"Oh, no, my dear," he said silkily. If he had had a mustache, he would have twirled it. "I have plans for you."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Well... here we are."  
  
Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei, and Kuwabara stood staring at the old, run-down building. Kuwabara shivered. "Hey, you guys, I'm getting a really weird vibe off of this place. The power that's being used... it feels... unclean."  
  
"Well, that matches up with what Koenma told us perfectly," Kurama stated, his eyes fixed on the building.  
  
"Yes," Hiei agreed.   
  
Yusuke looked a little blank. "Sorry, guys, I must have missed that part. What did he say about power?"  
  
Hiei gave him a scornful glance. "I'll explain more once we're inside."  
  
"Yeah, let's go."   
  
They ventured into the derelict building, unknowing of what it had in store for them.  
  
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"Why don't you tell us what these 'plans' of yours are?" Medra snapped.  
  
"Gladly, my dear," he smiled smoothly.  
  
Medra ground her teeth. ~That 'my dear' thing is really getting on my nerves,~ she thought.  
  
In the true tradition of evil villians, the priest had started to tell them of his evil plans. "A long time ago, in the Makai, there was a great and terrible god named Thalkarsh."  
  
"What is this, a bedtime story?!" Shizuru spat.  
  
The priest only looked mildly amused. "Patience, my dear, patience."  
  
"As I was saying, Thalkarsh rose to power swiftly, borne on the lives of his followers. Eventually, he was able to challenge the ruler of the Spirit World, Enma. But Enma beat him down and imprisoned him in a poket dimension, from which it seemed there was no escape. Then he had all the supporters of Thalkarsh exterminated." His face showed his contempt for the "great" ruler of the Reikai.   
  
"Luckily, one of his loyal followers escaped, and came to this world. He gathered up a few faithful men, of which I was one, and attempted to free Thalkarsh. However-" His face darkened. "Your government found out about this and destroyed him at the last minute. Then they pitifully tried to cover up what was obviously an attack on forces they couldn't control." He spat on the ground.  
  
"I escaped."  
  
"For years, I have been biding my time, sacrificing people when I could, waiting for the right day for Thalkarsh to return. Now, only one more sacrifice is needed." He grinned evily. "That's where you come in."  
  
"You see, a person gives off a great amount of spirit energy when they're about to die. This energy is maximized if the person goes through pain and torture before death."  
  
"Blood magic," Botan whispered fearfully.  
  
"Yes, that's right," the priest said, nodding in Botan's direction.   
  
"So why the five of us, if you only needed one?' Keiko asked bravely.  
  
"After such a long time trapped in that pocket dimension, Thalkarsh's power will be low," the priest explained. Then he grinned. "Your family and friends will make the perfect snacks."  
  
All five gasped. ~He's going to sacrifice them-~  
  
~It's a trap!~  
  
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Yusuke punched out the center of yet another demon. "Geez, do these things ever stop coming?" he remarked sarcastically. "They remind me of those Cultivated Humans back at Maze Castle!"  
  
"I know what you mean, Urameshi," Kuwabara said, decapitating another with his Spirit Sword. "There. That's the last one."  
  
"Let's go then," Kurama urged, and they set off to find the girls.  
  
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Dun dun DUNNNNN...  
  
Oh yes, I'm evil. Yet another cliffie. I apologize for the crappy writing. I'll make it up to you, I swear. Next chapter - they get their revenge! Or do they?... Review to find out! Ja! 


	4. Chapter 3 Thalkarsh Rises

^_^ Only a chapter or two to go! Keep those reviews comin'!  
  
Naoko Kensaku: ^_^; Sorry. I didn't know if you meant to count it as a review. Your story's doing really well... except people won't review it.  
  
Woodsmaster: Thank you!  
  
Yaoi-Rules: Thanks again!  
  
CrazedAnimeFanGirl: O.o *pokes* Are you all right?  
  
Aoi Me: *cringes* Mrrr! Don't hurt me! Gomen about the prologue. And yeah, you were really close. It's just that the rest of the fics will have the pairing as already there and I had to establish it somehow.  
  
Well, on to the fic.  
  
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Angels, Demons and Sacrifices  
  
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Eventually, the Reikai Tantei came to a huge set of doors. They stopped, eyeing the doors warily.  
  
"Kuwabara, do you sense anything in there?" Yusuke asked.  
  
"Hold on a second."  
  
Kuwabara closed his eyes and tried to sense what lay beyond those doors. He could sense traces of the girls' spirit energy, overlaid by the unclean power he had felt earlier. He shuddered and moved away from that. Checking around, he couldn't sense anything else major. Except...  
  
There was something, there, in the back of the room. Barely enough to be noticeable, it pulsed slightly. He came a little closer. It seemed so faint... but the longer he stared at it, the greater it seemed. It was like staring into a puddle and seeing it deepen into a pool... then an ocean...  
  
"Kuwabara? Kuwabara!"  
  
He jerked and stepped back from the spot. Now that he looked at it from a distance, it didn't seem so bad after all. Probably just a ghost. Still... you couldn't be too careful...  
  
He came back into his body and opened his eyes. "The girls are definitely in there, and they're being held by a lot of energy," he reported. "And there's a slightly bad spot near the back we don't want to go near."  
  
"All right, then let's go," Yusuke said.  
  
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When pushed, the doors creaked open with a terrible groan.   
  
~I don't like this,~ Kurama thought. ~It seems far too easy - like a trap. But we have no other choice.~  
  
In the gloomy darkness of the huge room, only one thing could be seen clearly - the glow of the girls' cage. They moved towards it cautiously.  
  
Suddenly, a glowing cage sprang up around them. Before any of them could move, a ceiling had appeared, closing it off. "What?!" Yusuke immediately fired the Spirit Gun he had held ready.  
  
It bounced off the wall and headed straight back at him.  
  
"Aaaah! Everybody duck!" Yusuke hit the floor, along with Kurama. Hiei simply dodged it. But Kuwabara stood his ground, getting out his Spirit Sword. When the bullet came to him, he whacked it with the flat of the blade, and it bounced to the ceiling and faded.  
  
"Finally."  
  
All of them got up and stared angrily at this man. "Kuwabara, I thought you said no one was here," Yusuke hissed.  
  
Kuwabara stared at the man. "I couldn't feel his spirit energy... and I still can't. I don't think he has any spirit energy. His aura's like a vortex with his shields down. It just sucks in whatever you throw at it."  
  
"I have waited for this day for such a long time," Vironem continued, as though he hadn't heard them. "The time is at hand. When Thalkarsh rises, he will feast upon your souls, and be as mighty as he once was. But first-" Now he turned back towards the girls' cage. "-he needs a final sacrifice. Now, who shall have the honor?..."  
  
Medra and Shizuru both had a grim expression their faces, thinking ~I'm not going down without a fight...~ Yukina stood back, frightened, but determined to freeze the evil priest if he got near her. Botan hovered in the background, looking worried but unable to do anything. Which left...  
  
"Keiko," Vironem breathed. "You shall be the sacrifice."   
  
"NO!!!!!"  
  
Yusuke was shouting and pounding on the walls of the enclosure, but Vironem didn't even appear to notice. He kept his eyes fixed on Keiko's.  
  
"She won't go!" Medra declared fiercely. "We'll keep her here!"  
  
"Oh, will you?" the priest smiled.  
  
Keiko's eyes went blank, and she started moving towards the wall as if in a trance. All four tried to hold her back, but the wall that she walked through as though it were water seemed like cement to them. She walked straight up to the altar and laid down on it.   
  
Yusuke kept pounding on the walls. His spirit energy was increasing to nearly dangerous levels. "Hey, watch it, Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled as he was pushed to the opposite side by a stray blast of spirit energy.  
  
"I won't-" -pound- "-let Keiko-" -pound- "-be a-" -pound- "sacrifice!!!!"   
  
In a final burst, his energy soared-  
  
Vironem, poised over Keiko with a knife inches away from her heart, looked up-  
  
-just as the walls started to fracture.  
  
CRACK!!!!!!  
  
Suddenly, the walls shattered. The priest stepped back, a stunned look on his face. "B-but... h-how..." he stammered. "Those walls were made to be proof against any spirit energy!"  
  
Yusuke stood, radiating spirit energy in a visible aura, with two pissed-off demons and a furious human behind him. "Guess you underestimated us," he said in a low, dangerous voice.  
  
For the first time, Vironem seemed to realize exactly how bad his situation was. He tried to back away, babbling the beginnings of a spell...  
  
"Spirit Gun!"  
  
"Rose Whip!"  
  
"Spirit Sword!"  
  
"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!"  
  
... but he didn't get far before their rage caught up with him.  
  
Keiko blinked and shook her head. Yusuke rushed to her side, asking, "Are you all right?" Meanwhile, Hiei and Kurama had gone over to the girls' cage and quickly disabled it.   
  
"Finally!" Medra exclaimed. "I was beginning to think we'd never out of there."  
  
"Thank you for saving us," said Yukina shyly, which launched Kuwabara into an epic tale of his heroic exploits. Hiei growled under his breath and looked ready to beat up Kuwabara, until Kurama put a gentle hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Well, guys-" They looked up to see Yusuke bringing Keiko down from the altar. "Let's go home."  
  
All of them nodded and headed for the doors. They were stopped by a low chuckle. Yuske's eyes narrowed, and they slowly turned around.  
  
Vironem's body had sunk out of sight into a swirling black vortex that had opened up behind the altar. And rising up from that space was a huge, dark figure. "Thank you..." it said in a deep, rumbling voice.  
  
"...for bringing me back."  
  
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O.O He's alive! You guessed it - Vironem was the final sacrifice. I know demons aren't usually supposed to kill humans, but Koenma gave them special permission in this case, seeing as how Thalkarsh was a threat to all three worlds.   
  
*looks over chapter again* T_T Am I losing my touch?! This chapter also sucked. Gomen. Please, stay with me... there's one more chapter, and the next fic will be better, I promise... 


	5. Chapter 4 The Final Fight

Yes, final chapter! *pats herself on the back* Thanks for staying with me.  
  
amanda: All right! *grins and hits air* I'm attracting newbies! Thanks so much!  
  
Naoko Kensaku: Thanks. I try to keep people guessing.  
  
Aoi Me: Well, anything's better than this.  
  
Yaoi-Rules: Thank you!  
  
And I do believe that's all the reviews for Chapter 4. So, on to the fic! *wince* Prepare to underwhelmed...  
  
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Angels, Demons and Sacrifices  
  
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Thalkarsh rose to his full height, his hair brushing the ceiling. Oddly, he looked like a Kyuukonki(1)... except that a Kyuukonki was only eight feet tall, whereas this one was three stories...  
  
Yusuke turned to face the demon god. "Botan, I want you to get the girls out of here," he said, speaking carefully to not let his rage out where it might hurt them.  
  
Botan nodded seriously and got on her oar. "Come on, girls, let's go," she said, shooing them through the huge doors. But once they were through, the doors began to close after them.  
  
Botan looked back quickly, in time to see a flash of blue and white in the crack between the doors. "Medra!?-"  
  
Medra took her stance beside the rest of the Tantei. "You're not supposed to be here," Kurama murmured, his eyes never leaving the god.   
  
"I couldn't just leave you all here, could I? Not when I can fight," she said, her eyes also on Thalkarsh. They suddenly narrowed. "Not when I have a score to settle."  
  
Thalkarsh looked bemused and also slightly bored. "So, one of my snacks has decided to throw herself into my jaws rather than wait till my world domination? No matter. It doesn't matter how many fighters you throw at me, I'll still win. And once I have eaten you five, I will be even stronger!" he roared.  
  
"Blah blah blah, all talk and no action," Medra said sharply.  
  
"Don't underestimate him. He may be weakened, but he's still a god," Hiei said to warn her.  
  
"I know." She brought out her swords.  
  
"Well? Attack me," ordered Thalkarsh. "Or are you just going to stand around all day?"  
  
Suddenly, Medra made her move. She jumped off the wall and slashed at his right arm, using her wings to hover. As if they had planned it all along, the others simultaneously attacked him. Hiei set his Dragon of the Darkness Flame to work on the god's left arm, Kurama used his whip on the god's legs, Kuwabara slashed his abdomen, and Yusuke gave Thalkarsh a Spirit Gun to the head. Then they regrouped on the ground to see what effect their attacks had had.  
  
He remained still for a second. Then came that rumbling, deep laugh. And, to their horror, his wounds healed themselves before their very eyes. Quickly, they attacked again, but it was no use. No matter what they tried, nothing took. Finally, panting, they stopped.  
  
"What... what do we do now?" asked Kuwabara.  
  
Yusuke thought for a minute, then said seriously, "I have a plan, but I'm not sure it will work."  
  
"Baka, anything's better than what we're doing right now. It's not getting us anywhere!" Hiei spat.  
  
"I'm going to try to create a new attack."  
  
"WHAT??!!"  
  
"I need all your spirit energy combined," he said, looking around at them. When nobody moved, he added, "Please! Trust me on this one."  
  
"Well, I trust you," Medra said. She placed a hand on Yusuke's arm and fed him a thin line of her spirit energy, looking at the others expectantly. Kurama joined her, then Hiei, then, grudingly, Kuwabara.  
  
A dirty blue ball of spirit energy was growing in Yusuke's hands. It looked as though he had taken all their energy and rolled it into a lump along with his own. When it had grown to a foot in diameter, it stopped.  
  
Yusuke took aim carefully, and... fired.  
  
"Spirit Bomb!"  
  
It landed gently in the mouth of Thalkarsh... who then proceeded to swallow it.   
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Thalkarsh laghed in great delight. "You see?! I am invinci-"  
  
BOOOOOM!!!!!  
  
Thalkarsh was no longer there. Instead, everyone was ankle-deep in demon goop.  
  
Yusuke grinned crookedly. "Must've had a delayed reaction."  
  
"Yeah!" shouted Kuwabara, clapping Yusuke on the back. "Way to go, Urameshi!"   
  
Hiei simply smirked and gave his usual, "Hn."  
  
Medra laughed from sheer joy and kissed Kurama, who kissed her back. They broke to find Yusuke and Kuwabara staring at them with their jaws dropping and Hiei with an unreadable expression. Both of them sweatdropped.  
  
"Looks like we have a little explaining to do..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*OWARI*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
^_^ Heh heh heh... they forgot to mention their relationship to the others...   
  
That was pretty short. I'll try to do better. The next part is going to have less Kurama/Medra sap and be more focused on Medra herself.  
  
1= A Kyuukonki is what Gouki was. You know, the ogre-like person that had the Orb of Baast?  
  
Preview of Next Fic: We all know Medra's past. So why has a letter turned up from people that say they know where she came from - and why she has wings? And why is it from the Makai? Confused? I sure am. Next up: Origins of an Angel. You won't want to miss it! 


End file.
